Green: "Antagonism toward data centers is real and organic"

Ben Green, assistant professor of information at the University of Michigan, told Fortune there's meanwhile abundant signs that antagonism toward data centers is real and organic. "Anyone who doubts it should just show up to any of the communities where people are actually fighting data centers," Green said. "Show up to a town hall, show up to a city council meeting, and you will just very clearly see that these are people who live in this community [and] are clearly very upset about this."

The public's ire toward data centers is just one ingredient in an otherwise perfect storm of anxiety around AI-related job displacement; environmental concerns around water usage and noise pollution; as well as a general disdain toward tech leaders touting the growth of AI amid these concerns, Green suggested.

"There's a broader sense of class politics in this," he said. "They are these facilities which bring really close to zero benefits to [the] community, are extracting natural resources, and all of the benefit here is just going to these tech companies and billionaires."

Green also poured cold water on the argument that China is fueling data center discontent, arguing the campaign would require immense amounts of resources and coordination from an adversary to the U.S. that would be better spent on issues outside of AI infrastructure.

"If China is that good at creating that level of change in public opinion across pretty much every facet of society, that's just a pretty incredible level of influence," he said. "I would say, if they could do that, then they would probably be weaponizing that for other things beyond data centers."